Donations pour in for Tarlac programmer who repairs computers for free

Mark Anthony Perez, 22, has been repairing computers for free to help students in Tarlac who will be using these for their online classes. The story of his generosity went viral, inspiring Manila-based computer store Gigahertz to donate defective laptops and computer memories. (Contributed)

BAMBAN, TARLAC–A computer store in Manila on Saturday donated 49 defective laptops to a programmer in Tarlac City who has been repairing laptops and computers without charges.

According to Mark Anthony Perez, 22, the staff of the computer store Gigahertz went to their home for the donation after learning about his free repair service.

Perez said the store also gave him 43 pieces of 2-gigabyte (GB) random-access memory (RAM), four pieces of 4-GB RAM, and eight pieces of 8-GB RAM.

Perez who started the campaign on Aug. 27 now works with Patrick Johnry Salita, Dinard Nicosia, Francisco Muan, Aldrin Marck Medrano, Nicolas Espenilla and Sherwin Perez who volunteer their time for the task.

Other volunteers, Alexrael Caculitan and Renz Angelo Corpuz, will also help repair laptops and computers of students in Sta. Ignacia town.

After his story went viral, two more volunteer technicians outside Tarlac province joined his campaign.

Oliver Ramos will repair laptops in Pampanga while Bernard Paul offered free laptop repair services in Antipolo Rizal.

“Ngayong mas marami na kaming nagtutulung-tulong at nawa ay mas dumami pa kami at makaabot maging sa ibang lugar ng bansa,” Perez told the Inquirer by phone.

On Sunday, Perez also donated a laptop he repaired to Christian Zamora, a grade 11 student in Capas town in Tarlac, who needed it for online classes.